Scientists closer to outsmarting malaria parasites

Researchers from The Australian National University (ANU) have discovered why malaria parasites are vulnerable to some drug ther apies but resistant to others , offering scientists another piece of the puzzle in the global fight against the disease. The ANU team has characterised two malaria proteins , known as PfMDR1 and PfCRT , t'hat work together to transport drugs away from areas where the y exert their killing effect and concentrate them in "safe zones" that ultimately rend er the treatment s'ineffective. The findin gs could lead to new and longer- lasting treatments for malaria - a disease that killed a n'estimated 627,000 people worldwide in 2020. According to Dr Sarah S h afik from the ANU Research School of Biology certain anti - malaria l treatments are only effective at eradicating the disease if the drugs are located inside the stomach of the parasite. O ther treatments are most effective when located outside of the stomach. "We kn e w that parasites can be resistant to some drugs while simultaneously being susceptible to others , but we didn't kn o w how this occurred ," Dr S h afik , a co-author of the study, said. "Our work shows that PfMDR1 and PfCRT work together to alter the distribution of the drugs within the parasite, help ing it to evade the killing effect of one drug.